Vigil
by Wyrsa
Summary: (Oneshot) A quiet conversation, the flow of memories. Lonliness is best shared. Rated for minor language.


Disclaimer: Hmmm. Last time I checked, my lawyers were still in negotiations. But she's not budging. ::sigh:: Inu is not mine.   
  
AN: I'm exploring some possibilities again. The details are unimportant. The reactions are what captures the characters. Tell me what you think.   


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**Vigil**  
  
"Inu-no-niichan?" Two boys sat on the steps of a Shinto shrine. The smaller of the two sported a mop of wild black hair and doe-brown eyes. He was 14 now, less innocent then he had been five years ago. The taller figure seated beside him had a lot to do with that loss of innocence. Long cascades of thick milk-white hair billowed out from the confines of a simple red baseball cap. Molten yellow irises gleamed in the dying light of the sun. Those haunting eyes, mellowed with his taming, roamed restlessly over the city skyline.   
  
"Yeah, kid?" He tried to hide the dullness in his tone. The boy had to grin wryly.   
  
"You know I have a name, Inu-no-niichan. Sou-ta." Inuyasha flinched as Souta drew out each syllable. Souta patted his companion's arm. There was a time that the hanyou would have growled and pulled away. But he'd lived here for the past three years now. The once angry soul had been quieted. Lately he'd been even more withdrawn and passive. He sighed heavily, still looking over the city.   
  
"She said something similar to me when we first met." He smirked at the memory. "Your sister was standing there about to be eaten by a centipede youkai and she took the time to yell at me about her name." Souta chuckled.  
  
"That' sounds like her all right." He paused, scrunching up his face. "But if I remember right it still took you several days to even use her name once. Then you continued to call her names for the whole adventure. Only afterwards you called her..."  
  
"Mate." Inuyasha interrupted. "After we finished I called her mate." 'And friend, lover, my life....' He added silently. Souta nodded, a grin breaking out on his face.  
  
"I still remember when you first called her that in front of mom. I thought she was going to faint for sure!" Inuyasha had found out the hard way that humans had other terms for their life partners. In this time, the word 'mate' applied mainly to the deed and not the status of the relationship. As if he would form a relationship so casually! Inuyasha grumbled.   
  
"Yeah, well I can remember that frying pan too. Kagome was old enough by my time." He rubbed at the phantom pain from Mrs. Higirashi's aim. "I thought your mom liked my ears. Did she have to aim for them?" Souta laughed. It was forced and ended too soon. He shifted his weight.   
  
"I think she was more upset at what you were doing with your hands than what you were saying." The boy shuddered. The image of Inuyasha feeling his sister up in the living room was enough to traumatize any younger brother. "How was she supposed to know that you two had already married? We hadn't heard from Kagome for three weeks. We walk in the door, and pouf, here's your daughter and her boyfriend making out in the living room." Inuyasha blushed.   
  
"Feh." He growled. It lacked the menace he once possessed. He dropped his eyes to his lap. "Not like your mom will have to worry about that happening any time soon. Unless you and Hitomi are more serious then I thought." Souta stammered, throwing his hands up to ward away the thought.   
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This is not feudal Japan! I'm only fourteen for crying out loud." He pressed his hand to his chest to calm his pounding heart beat. "I don't even want to think about that!" Great, he needed more trauma. The poor kid really needed to go see a therapist.   
  
Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at him. "It won't be too long until you do think about it." He turned serious, his stare intense. "And when you do, don't do the same shit I did. Don't make her life into Hell." Souta inclined his head. He could remember the early days of the relationship. Kagome would often come home crying or yelling because of Inuyasha. He wouldn't make the same mistakes. He now knew how much it had hurt Inuyasha too. Both boys turned to watch the city's lights once more. Hesitantly, Souta ventured another question.  
  
"Do you miss her?"  
  
"Feh." Inuyasha snorted softly. His eyes softened. "Every minute." The whisper was almost too low for Souta to catch. The boy nodded solemnly.   
  
"Me too." Souta sighed. "I know she was away with you guys for two years, but she was still here at least sometimes. It's just not the same." His lips lifted into a smile. "But at least you're here with me." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.  
  
The companionable silence stretched for a moment. The sky blazed with brilliant orange and purple hues. They could hear the habitual sounds of Souta's mother preparing dinner. Jichan was ranting loudly about the price increase of pickles.   
  
"Do you ever wish you had gone with her?" Souta asked quietly. Inuyasha closed his fist in anger.  
  
"It never should have happened. After everything we've been through. Nothing here should have seperated us. Stupid Bitch." But he spoke the term without malice. He sighed again. Pulling his hat off to run a clawed hand through his hair. "Of course I wish I could have followed. I'd go to Hell and back for her! But I know she wouldn't want me to follow her. So, I'll stay here. For a while anyway."  
  
Inuyasha tilted his head to regard the first of the evening's stars. A sad ghost of a smile passed his lips. "I thought that once I had Kagome, I would never be alone again."  
  
Souta clasped a hand on the dog-demon's shoulder. Inuyasha turned his head and met the boy's determined gaze. His golden eyes snapped wide open with amazement. In that moment, Souta resembled Kagome's expression so closely.  
  
"You're not alone niichan." The adolescent swore. "As long as any member of this family exists, you will never be alone again." Inuyasha forced his gaze back to the stars again, his eyes suspiciously bright.   
  
"Thank you, little brother." He spoke quietly. In his head he added a silent thank you to Kagome too. She had made this possible. She had given him everything he had now. If only she was sitting there under the stars with him. Souta's hand dropped back to his side as the two drifted into a respectful silence. They turned open faces to the sky, as if expecting something.  
  
In the house Jichan had turned on the TV. The evening news blared its typical dreary report. A phone rang twice before it was answered.  
  
Ms. Higirashi's voice interrupted their melancholy moment. "Boys, Kagome is on the phone." Two pairs of eyes met in a silent challenge before each went scrambling over the other to reach the house. The young miko turned undergraduate student could never talk long. The phone bill rates at her university were ridiculous.   
  
--The End--  


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AN: Am I mean? ::wicked grin:: Please review. Even if just to tell me how mean I am.   
  
And a big thankyou to the wonderful people who reviewed my other two one shots:: "Answers Too Late" -- Death Boo; Del_kaidin; Faux Fox; LilyFlower2; Sesshoumaru-4-Ever; AshesOfReality; wei-cool "The Men in Her Life" -- Kristen Sharpe; reynamangga, tina, Arestelwen.Hope and Light; Del_kaidin (twice?! thanks!!); Ryguy5387; Crystal Singer; tOkU-cHaN; Beth; furiri; Sylver-Ajah; Shaniqua; Mitsuko Maxwell; Shadow's Assassin.   
  
And Thank You to those who review this too.   
  
  



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